Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[gromenauer38]

Years ago there was already an interesting thread about the C/B system in this forum: http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php/topic,13600.msg181583.html#msg181583
This system, with the notes of the tonic chord pulling and those of the dominant chord pushing, was known as the "French accordion," or flutina, and was very popular throughout the 19th century and well into the 20th century.
Most of the accordion methods published in Spain in the second half of the 19th century refer to this system, contrasting it with the "German accordion" system, which produced the same notes in the opposite direction of the bellows. Thus, for example, those of Manuel Baquero Lezaún or Antonio López Almagro.
The latter (http://bdh.bne.es/bnesearch/detalle/bdh0000049073), was published around 1876, and entirely dedicated to the "French accordion". It contains the layout of the notes on the two keyboards, on page 14.
In addition, accordions with this system, under the name of "chromatic accordions" were built by the Spanish brand "El Cid" until the 1950s (https://acordeoneselcid.blogspot.com/p/modelos-fabricados.html).
In fact, an accordion with this system, although tuned in B/Bb, was played until a few years by the Aragonese accordionist Ángel García, born in 1936 (http://www.xiloca.org/data/Bases%20datos/Cuadernos/ C27_057_080.pdf)

[Mike Hirst]

Years ago there was already an interesting thread about the C/B system in this forum: http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php/topic,13600.msg181583.html#msg181583
This system, with the notes of the tonic chord pulling and those of the dominant chord pushing, was known as the "French accordion," or flutina, and was very popular throughout the 19th century and well into the 20th century.
Most of the accordion methods published in Spain in the second half of the 19th century refer to this system, contrasting it with the "German accordion" system, which produced the same notes in the opposite direction of the bellows. Thus, for example, those of Manuel Baquero Lezaún or Antonio López Almagro.
The latter (http://bdh.bne.es/bnesearch/detalle/bdh0000049073), was published around 1876, and entirely dedicated to the "French accordion". It contains the layout of the notes on the two keyboards, on page 14.
In addition, accordions with this system, under the name of "chromatic accordions" were built by the Spanish brand "El Cid" until the 1950s (https://acordeoneselcid.blogspot.com/p/models-fabricados.html).
In fact, an accordion with this system, although tuned in B/Bb, was played until a few years by the Aragonese accordionist Ángel Bello, born in 1936 (http://www.xiloca.org/data/Bases%20datos/Cuadernos/ C27_057_080.pdf)

Some very useful links there. I have never considered instrument development from a Spanish perspective.
My Spanish language skills are not too hot, but once I had remembered the key terms - abriendo/cerrando, I could work through the layout diagrams and clearly see the reversed pattern.
Looking through the Biblioteca Digital Hispánica collection I found other 19thC accordion tutors with push/pull patterns matching the current expected norm. There is much more to learn.

[gromenauer38]

Right, Mike. Many other Spanish methods of the 19th century were dedicated to the "German accordion".
I think that another book that could be very interesting for all melodeon fans is the "Nuevo y sencillo manual del compositor y reformista de acordeones" (Zaragoza, 1883) by Manuel Baquero Lezaún, the first and only manual for repairing accordions published in Spain. This book is in the University Library of Zaragoza (https://biblioteca.unizar.es/), and it's not digitized, but I do not lose hope that a digital facsimile edition can be made soon.

[John Burks]

I just want to says thanks for all the responses. It has been fascinating to read the documentation and the previous posts. Thanks for the links.  I have downloaded the tutors. 

It’s interesting how the C/B system morphed from “C/B French accordion” (Flutina) to “ C/B German accordion” (reversing) and then in all likelihood into the modern day B/C.  The most telling thing for me though is the historic focus on C/B as a preferred layout for achieving the full chromatic scale.  The C on the outer with the semitones on the inner to me seems to be intuitively right. Having played it in various keys it feels right…. But time will tell.

Anyway I thought I would post a picture of the finished item.  Restored in its original C/B form. Its one I will keep.

Excuse the treatment.  It’s to be used for another 50 years 😉.    It’s for playing.🙃

[Alan Pittwood]

In fact, an accordion with this system, although tuned in B/Bb, was played until a few years by the Aragonese accordionist Ángel García, born in 1936 (http://www.xiloca.org/data/Bases%20datos/Cuadernos/ C27_057_080.pdf)

The space between the    /   and    C27_057_080.pdf has to be removed for this link to the pdf document to work.

Otherwise there is a 403 Forbidden error

[gromenauer38]

Hello everyone.
Simply to say that you can now read the first and only accordion repair manual published in Spain, a bibliographic jewel from 1883. You can see it here: https://acordeoneselcid.blogspot.com/2023/02/manuel-baquero-lezaun-y-algunas.html, along with other interesting news about the accordion in the city of Zaragoza, where the book was published, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.
I hope you find it interesting.